About... About-Bicycles.com
Hi, I'm Rob Chapman and I am the publisher of About-Bicycles.com. I started this web site, in 2003, as a resource for online bike sales, bike accessories and for a place to write about bike trails in our area.
With continuous updates and research, the About-Bicycles.com web site has grown into a major online cycling resource over the years and now includes hundreds of pages of quality information on Bikes, Bike Accessories, Exercise Bikes and Trainers, Bike Computers and GPS units, and bike trails in the Chicagoland area.
I have reviewed a large number of bikes, exercise bikes, indoor cycles and cycling products personally and with manufacturer's product specialists and professionals in the industry.
In addition to my own product research, I have had help and site contributions from cycling friends and industry professionals on bikes and bike products, the local bike trail pages, exercise bikes and trainers, and on the best bikes, exercise bikes and bike accessories available online.
I have also reviewed the Exercise Bike information on this site with my good friend Fred Waters who has been in the fitness equipment industry for a number of years (former V.P. of Marketing for Smooth Fitness Corp) and is an expert in fitness equipment.
In addition to the reviews, articles and photos on this website, I have had articles published on various ezine websites and have had articles and/or photos published in the following hard copy magazines: Competitor Magazine, Way of the Wilds, Family Time Magazine, North Shore Magazine.
Personal Cycling Information:
I love bike riding and have ridden thousands of bike miles over the years. I currently ride between 1000 and 2000 miles per year. I have purchased and ridden quite a few different bikes and types of bikes and have purchased plenty of bike accessories, supplies and bike parts both online and at local stores.
I rode an old 10 speed road bike (Batavus) for many years, then got my first Trek hybrid some years back (a Trek 7300fx)... I liked some of the features of the hybrid for my riding style, but have recently decided to return to a road bike once again. I now ride a Trek 1500 (road bike). I have a friend who has had a couple of recumbents (a SWB and a LWB) which I have ridden quite a bit and I plan on purchasing a bent soon too.
I live in the Chicago area and have found some great bike trails in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. I have written quite a few detailed descriptions of many of my rides and of the some of trails that I have found in the area.
Thanks to the aid of digital photography, I have also included numerous photos and videos of most of the bike trails that I have written about on this site and I hope to be adding quite a bit more as time allows... So check back soon!
This is me on my Trek 1500 at the Old School Trail Area (just off of
the Des Plaines River Trail)
My current bike since 2005, Trek 1500 on the Trek website
About-Bicycles.com Contributors
I would like to give special thanks to my friends and fellow cyclists that have made some significant contributions to this site. Much of the information and many pages have been contributed to this site by:
- Dale Kiffel - Bike Trail Pages and Recumbent Bike contributions.
- Bob Cummings - Bike Trail Pages and GPS information
- Fred Waters - Exercise Bike and Fitness Equipment expertise.
Thanks guys!
Do You Have a Dream?
I have had a dream for a while now of bicycling across the US. I have talked to people who have done it and although it sounds pretty extreme, it is still something that I would really like to do. I've considered just doing Illinois to California and then up the coast or starting in Colorado and just riding through the mountains to the coast then up and/or down the coast... Well, I'm not exactly sure what is going to work out yet (it could just be a pipe dream) but I haven't given up on the idea yet!
You can contact me via e-mail at:
Or if you would like my old fashioned postal address for contacting me, it is:Rob Chapman
1119 Peregrine Court
Palatine, Illinois 60067